Since Joe Biden announced on Sunday his intention to nominate longtime Democratic Party hack Xavier Becerra to become secretary of Health and Human Services, the broadcast networks have brushed aside any discussion of the California Attorney General’s lack of medical qualifications for the job and completely ignored his radical views on issues like abortion.
“Breaking overnight, President-Elect Joe Biden has announced a string of top appointees who could dramatically change the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic,” CBS This Morning co-host and Democratic Party booster Gayle King touted on Monday. Correspondent Nikole Killion followed: “Gayle, there are several notable picks here, including the President-Elect’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.”
While Killion noted that Becerra “doesn’t have a public health background,” she suggested that his pursuit of a partisan policy agenda made up for it somehow: “...but has been a staunch defender of the Affordable Care Act. And prior to his time as California’s top lawyer, he helped shepherd it through the House as a congressman.”
Teeing up another report from Killion on CBS Evening News Monday night, anchor Norah O’Donnell enthused:
And coronavirus will likely be the biggest challenge facing President-Elect Biden when he takes the oath of office in January. Well, today he revealed the people who will work in his administration to fight COVID. CBS’s Nikole Killion with more now on Biden’s plan to hit the ground running.
Killion joined in the cheerleading: “President-Elect Joe Biden unveiled a health team that he hopes can turn the tide....It features a who’s who of scientific and medical experts...” Moments later, she added that Becerra was a “surprise pick” but failed to point out that he was neither a “scientific” nor “medical” “expert.”
As news of the Becerra pick broke Sunday night, on NBC Nightly News, correspondent Kelly O’Donnell gushed:
To lead the Department of Health and Human Services in this time of COVID, NBC News confirms that Joe Biden will nominate Xavier Becerra, who is currently California’s attorney general, former member of Congress. The 62-year-old has been, from his California office, leading a lot of the litigation to protect ObamaCare.
On Monday’s Today show, co-host Hoda Kotb echoed that swooning sentiment: “If confirmed, the former Democratic Congressman would be the first Latino to head the department....In California, he worked to protect access to health care and new COVID-19 treatments during the pandemic.”
“Also right now, President-Elect Joe Biden unveiled his nomination for secretary of Health and Human Services, it’s California Attorney General, former Congressman Xavier Becerra,” George Stephanopoulos mentioned during’s ABC’s Good Morning America Monday. That was the extent of the broadcast’s coverage of the controversial pick.
Later in the day, during GMA3 in the 1:00 p.m. ET hour, reporter Kyra Phillips informed viewers: “We begin here on this Monday with the incoming Biden administration focusing on the COVID-19 crisis. The President-Elect unveiling his top tier health team, including California Attorney General Xavier Becerra...” On World News Tonight that evening, anchor David Muir repeated: “President-Elect Joe Biden, who has vowed to make the pandemic his top priority, announcing the leaders of his health team.”
Missing from any of the fawning coverage was the New York Times reporting that “Some medical experts, who have been pushing the Biden team to name people with medical or public health expertise to serve in health leadership positions, were caught off guard — and unhappily so — by the news of Mr. Becerra’s selection.”
The National Review also pointed to Becerra’s overzealous political prosecution of pro-life activists who exposed Planned Parenthood selling fetal body parts, something even the left-wing L.A. Times labeled a “disturbing overreach.”
For all of these reasons, several Republican senators have already voiced opposition to Becerra, signaling a contentious confirmation fight.
It’s important to look back at the hysteria that consumed the leftist media when President-Elect Trump named Republican Congressman Tom Price as his pick to head up HHS in late 2016. The same networks who saw no problem with Becerra warned that Price was “the man who intends to blow up ObamaCare.” Earlier that same day, MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell eagerly brought on ObamaCare architect Dr. Zeke Emanuel to trash Price. Numerous supposed “journalists” also took to Twitter to freak out that Price would “take health insurance away from millions of poor people.”
Any Republican or conservative named to a top government job is immediately tarred by the left-wing press as dangerous, while radical Democrats and liberals are given the red-carpet treatment.
CBS’s boosting of Becerra was brought to viewers by Chase, to NBC viewers by Dove, and to ABC viewers by WeatherTech. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
